10 DECEMBER 2016

Bute injured, Pascal fight postponed

Lucian Bute has injured his left hand whilst training for his May 25th clash with countryman Jean Pascal. Bute will have a minor operation to remove bone fragments and should be recovered within a two to three weeks.

The former IBF Super Middleweight champion stated; “I am very disappointed by this injury. I have never been in better shape. My preparation was ahead of schedule until late last week. The fans that paid high ticket prices to see me in action against Pascal deserve to see both boxers at their best. Unfortunately I would be far from my best in my present state. For my own good, I have to take the advice of my doctor and undergo this operation. I feel very sad for the fans,”

Lucian’s trainer Stephan Larouche commented “This situation is heartbreaking. Lucian`s preparation surpassed our objectives and now this injury will prevent him from offering his fans a great performance on May 25th. We are all very disappointed with this turn of events but the decision to go straight to surgery was the only one to be made as he could no longer use his left hand adequately in training. In the past, we made the error of not listening to the signs of distress coming from the body of an athlete. We do not want to make these same mistakes again.”

It is unclear if the full card will now be cancelled or will continue without the main event.

Jean Bedard from promoters Interbox shared the disappointment "This is very discouraging for the team. InterBox and Lucian Bute have been through a lot to offer this fight to the fans, but unfortunately injuries are a part of the sport. We made the decision to postpone the fight in the best interests of the fans and of our boxer, Lucian. We will do everything in our power so that Lucian rehabilitates from this injury as fast as possible so he can lace up the gloves against Jean Pascal.”

The fight, scheduled for the same night as the Super Middleweight unification between Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch which is taking place in London, was due to be televised in the United States on HBO. Both Bute and Pascal are from Quebec and this match up was arguably one of the biggest in Canadian boxing history.